Fast-moving late-season thunderstorms threaten to sweep sections of the Chicago
area Thursday afternoon. High winds are common when storms move quickly and the
degree of heating and precise timing of their arrival here will be critical to whether any
severe weather watches become necessary. Thursday's storm threat is an extension of
an uncommonly vigorous late-season thunderstorm outbreak Wednesday in the
southern Plains and western Midwest, the region hit with large hail. Storm spotters in
Piedmont, Okla. reported hail the size of tennis balls (2.5 inches in diameter) -- one of
63 reports of hail filed with NOAA's Storm Prediction Center by late in the day. The
squall line responsible included some radar-scanned thunderstorm tops up to 44,000
feet.
RESIDENTS IN THE DAKOTAS TOLD TO STAY HOME; BLIZZARDS SLASH
VISIBILITIES TO ZERO!
The mammoth autumn storm responsible for the Plains thunderstorms were producing
blizzard conditions from Wyoming through the Dakotas. Gusts to 66 m.p.h. there were
behind whiteout conditions, expected to continue Thursday.
--Tom Skilling, Chief Meteorologist, WGN-TV/Chicago Tribune
